Title: Watership Down
Year: 1978
Director: Martin Rosen
Country: UK
Language: English
"All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand enemies. And when
they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you" says the narrator in the opening lines of Martin Rosen's Watership Down,
based upon the acclaimed novel by Richard Adams. When it was first
released in 1978 the British Board of Film Classification had given it a
U for Universal, this meant that the picture's most violent scenes were
accessible to even the youngest of children. Rosen had tried to make
the film's poster unappealing to family audiences, depicting a rabbit in
a snare, but they still went and found themselves outraged when their
children was shocked by the visual imagery.
This animated feature delves into the surprisingly violent world of a warren of rabbits as they seek to establish a new colony free of tyranny and human intervention.
Watership Down was the greatest Cinematic experience I've ever felt from an animated movie, not to knock animation as overall it is a truly wonderful artistic expression. I truly felt connected to many of the rabbits, I feared for their lives when danger was afoot, I wept when they wept. The story is almost biblical in nature; Rosen never shies away from the essential questions about life and death. It consists of bittersweet wisdom and heartbreak, but despite that it is comforting, even hopeful.
Martin Rosen's film is very sociological in nature; it addresses real life concerns about industrialization and communism, and is all the better for it. At first glance one might be struck by all the blood in the film, but it has intellectual purpose, seeking to preserve the immediate danger of the world. Watership Down without its horror would be a completely different picture that would lose any poetic poignancy. It's visual style is naturalistic, although in some scenes it can look rather avant garde. The animators did a remarkable job, as it looks fantastic even today.
In conclusion, Watership Down is a must see for anybody who takes film seriously as a medium. It is striking and bold, everybody involved must have had the courage of a lion in order to produce this. Rosen not only does the book justice, but his message seems more successful that the book. Beautiful imagery floods the screen and makes a tremendous impact on all who see it. Praise it! 5/5
Year: 1978
Director: Martin Rosen
Country: UK
Language: English
This animated feature delves into the surprisingly violent world of a warren of rabbits as they seek to establish a new colony free of tyranny and human intervention.
Watership Down was the greatest Cinematic experience I've ever felt from an animated movie, not to knock animation as overall it is a truly wonderful artistic expression. I truly felt connected to many of the rabbits, I feared for their lives when danger was afoot, I wept when they wept. The story is almost biblical in nature; Rosen never shies away from the essential questions about life and death. It consists of bittersweet wisdom and heartbreak, but despite that it is comforting, even hopeful.
Martin Rosen's film is very sociological in nature; it addresses real life concerns about industrialization and communism, and is all the better for it. At first glance one might be struck by all the blood in the film, but it has intellectual purpose, seeking to preserve the immediate danger of the world. Watership Down without its horror would be a completely different picture that would lose any poetic poignancy. It's visual style is naturalistic, although in some scenes it can look rather avant garde. The animators did a remarkable job, as it looks fantastic even today.
In conclusion, Watership Down is a must see for anybody who takes film seriously as a medium. It is striking and bold, everybody involved must have had the courage of a lion in order to produce this. Rosen not only does the book justice, but his message seems more successful that the book. Beautiful imagery floods the screen and makes a tremendous impact on all who see it. Praise it! 5/5
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